Under-Pressure Personality Profile
Under Pressure uses 44 International Personality Item Pool statements to assess 11 named scales.
You learn which of your traits help or hinder you under pressure.
For anyone who wants to see how their personality holds up when stakes are high.
Pay $6 before you start. The full report and PDF are included.
Your answers stay private.
It comes from applied personality research on traits that matter under strain.
What this test is
Welcome. Under Pressure uses 44 International Personality Item Pool statements to assess 11 named scales.
The measure
It has 44 items, each answered on a 5-point (Very Inaccurate … Very Accurate) scale. Its scores cover Excitable, Skeptical, Cautious, Reserved, Leisurely, Bold, Mischievous, Colorful, Imaginative, Diligent and Dutiful.
Items drawn from the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), placed in the public domain. Goldberg, L. R., et al. (2006). The International Personality Item Pool and the future of public-domain personality measures. Journal of Research in Personality, 40(1), 84–96.
At a glance
What it measures
Eleven styles describe how people tend to behave when stressed, tired or not monitoring how they come across. Excitable describes enthusiasm that turns to volatility; Skeptical, shrewdness that turns to mistrust; Cautious, care that turns to avoidance of risk; Reserved, independence that turns to withdrawal; Leisurely, cooperativeness that hides resistance; Bold, confidence that turns to arrogance; Mischievous, charm that turns to rule-testing; Colorful, expressiveness that turns to attention-seeking; Imaginative, creativity that turns to eccentricity; Diligent, high standards that turn to perfectionism; and Dutiful, loyalty that turns to excessive deference.
Hogan and Hogan (2001) described these tendencies as the dark side of personality: patterns that are often strengths in ordinary conditions but can derail careers and relationships under pressure. The styles parallel the personality disorders in clinical classification, in a mild, normal-range form. The statements here come from the public-domain International Personality Item Pool (IPIP; Goldberg et al., 2006).
Each style is scored separately. Higher scores describe a style that is more likely to appear under pressure; lower scores describe one that is unlikely to. Moderate scores often indicate that the corresponding strength is present without much risk of excess. The profile describes tendencies under stress, not disorders.
The profile is used in leadership coaching, team development and self-reflection. On this site, the Workplace Personality Profile describes everyday work styles, the Work-Relevant Personality Scales add occupational scales, and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) describes maladaptive traits in clinical terms.
Validity evidence
The construct dimensions map onto established personality facets (e.g., neuroticism, conscientiousness) that predict stress reactivity, coping style, and performance under pressure across meta-analytic reviews. Item selection follows IPIP convergent-validity standards.
Subscales
Excitable 4 items
how down on yourself and discouraged you say you feel, weighed against how easily stressed or desperate you say you feel
Skeptical 4 items
how much you feel short-changed by life and suspect that others have hidden motives or are out to get something from you
Cautious 4 items
how uneasy you feel approaching people outside your circle and how readily nervousness or panic sets in
Reserved 4 items
how much you keep to yourself and take little pleasure in company, weighed against staying in the background or finding your experiences dull
Leisurely 4 items
how firmly you steer away from fights, conflict, rule-breaking, and doing the opposite of what is asked (scored from reverse-keyed conflict items)
Bold 4 items
how much you take charge of others, enjoy authority, and put yourself on show
Mischievous 4 items
how drawn you are to danger and frightening thrills, weighed against how impulsively you say you react and speak
Colorful 4 items
how confident a performer, persuader, and conversation-starter you see yourself as
Imaginative 4 items
how much you prefer variety over routine, value art, and reach for complex words and insightful remarks
Diligent 4 items
how much you want every detail handled and things to run on plans, schedules, and routine
Dutiful 4 items
how much you lean on others' opinions and approval, follow your conscience, and avoid confrontation
Example item
“Dislike myself.”
Illustrative only. During administration items are presented one screen-set at a time; response-key direction is never shown to respondents.
Scoring & interpretation
Your report explains each of your scale scores in plain language.
References
- Goldberg, L. R. (1999). A broad-bandwidth, public domain, personality inventory measuring the lower-level facets of several five-factor models. Personality Psychology in Europe, 7, 7-28.
- Bolger, N., & Zuckerman, A. (1995). A framework for studying personality in the stress process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 890-902.
Sample report preview
The report opens with a profile of your scores on each of the 11 scales, drawn on a common scale so the highest and lowest areas stand out. Each one then receives a short plain-language explanation of what a higher or lower standing describes. It closes with guidance on reading the results and on the limits of self-report.
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Subscale scores | Your score on each of the 11 subscales. |
| Comparisons | How your scores compare with a published comparison group. |
The test and full report with a downloadable copy are $6.
How would you like to use it?
For yourself
Take it yourself and receive a written score report you can download as a PDF. When you are signed in, your results are saved so you can retake it later and follow how your scores change over time.
For researchers
Sign up as an Implicitify researcher to use the full suite of measures in your studies, or pay for each test you give. Research pricing is still being set, so we will confirm it with you when you get in touch.
Become a researcherFor clinicians
Open a clinician account to send this measure to your clients or patients through a secure link and review their scored results in one place.
Create a clinician accountAlready have an account? Go to your clinician dashboard.For educators
Use our measures in your courses to show students how psychological assessment works and to teach the principles of testing.
Request course accessRelated tests
Interpersonal Circumplex – 32 ItemMeasures your interpersonal style across eight blends of warmth and dominance.$6
Defense Mechanism QuestionnaireMeasures the habitual ways you protect yourself from stress and painful feelings, from mature to immature.$6
Behavioral Inhibition and Activation ScalesMeasures sensitivity to punishment (behavioral inhibition) and to reward (behavioral activation).$6
Character Strengths InventoryMeasures twenty-four character strengths, such as curiosity, kindness, and perseverance.$6